Visas - DIY (or DI Don’t)
Thanks to the power of social media (which is ironic, given the rest of this post), I am able to engage with a number of immigration professionals around the world, all working with different systems. It is fascinating to see how our process here in New Zealand stacks up against, the systems of other countries.
Yesterday I was engaged in a really interesting discussion with someone in Canada, who was in turn discussing the process of “DIY visa applications” with another individual, keen on selling some sort of automated application process. Obviously that got me thinking about the way the application process has changed here over the years and the role that the “DIY” process takes in the context of trying to secure a New Zealand visa.
There is no shortage of DIY enthusiasts out there, in fact I am one of those myself, but the question I have is whether you can DIY a move to another country in the same way you might DIY, installing a kitchen cabinet. Obviously I am going to be slightly (or largely) biased in this review, given my job involves helping people with the process, but I am going to try and be as objective as I can here, because love it or loathe it, there are plenty of people who pursue the DIY path, either in part or in whole.
The “single source of truth”
Most Visa applications are now filed online, but that has the potential to make things more confusing, not less.
But it’s all online?
Immigration New Zealand (INZ), like many other countries has progressively been moving its application processes to online platforms, which of course makes perfect sense in the modern era. We buy our groceries online, we do our banking online, why wouldn’t we also want to be able to file a visa application online. Admittedly our move to this model has been slower (and more costly) than many other countries, but we are getting there. The challenge here however is that as everything moves online, the ability for people to be fed the wrong information increases dramatically. Let me give you an example. I recently had an issue with the central locking in my car, however a quick google of the symptoms, gave me the answer through a series of panicked button presses on my key-fob. Easy solution because my car was made in the same way as every other car of its type. What works for mine will work for all. When it comes to a visa application however, every person that attempts this process is unique, they have unique skills, different backgrounds, specific requirements and so no amount of “googling” is going to throw up a solution that would suit each and every person.
Just because a process is done online, doesn’t mean it is any less complex and in many cases when everything is online and the only resource to guide you is a chatbot or a PDF guide, trying to figure out of you are in the right lane or wrong lane can be even more confusing.
The temptation however is there and INZ even markets it in this way, that visas are “products” that you can buy through their ecommerce platform…like a toaster or a t-shirt. For many people, looking to do “visas on a budget” this is enticing, but often ends up being more expensive in the long-run because the visa is delayed (due to the wrong documents) or worse, declined, because of any number of issues. Online is great, but in this process it can often oversimplify things, meaning applicants miss what might be very crucial details, relevant to their overall success.
Automation isn’t automatic
INZ has attempted over the years to “automate” their systems, but that doesn’t mean getting your visa is an automatic process.
Visas are complex
Visas are complex but not necessarily because of the rules behind them, but instead because the factors people bring to the process will vary so greatly. As an example, most visas have a health standard you have to meet, however health is not a black and white matter. Whilst some people will have medical conditions that clearly create a problem, others will have conditions that could need review, but be argued (by someone with the right skills) as not failing the medical criteria. In other cases INZ might deem a minor medical issue to be a bigger problem than it really is. The same applies to character, or assessing whether someone’s work experience is skilled or they have the right job in NZ. No system, AI, software or computer can accurately or with consistency, make those sorts of decisions.
In recent years, INZ have been pushing towards a visa processing system that would introduce a lot of “automation”, essentially meaning that a lot of the routine tasks are handled by a computer as a opposed to a person. The system was also going to make many of the basic decisions for INZ, by using various pre-set criteria to assess risk. In short, the answers to the questions on the form, would see your application falling in to one of several baskets, ranging from “approve no questions” to “decline no questions”. The cost of this fairytale has ballooned from an estimate $30 million at the start to well over $50 million to date. What we have for that eye-watering figure is a system that forgets to move applications along in the queue, send out the right requests or even worse, loses applications entirely, and for the most part, applications are still being decided by human beings.
Automation is great when you want to remove the mundane tasks, but no matter how clever your system, this remains a human process from start to finish and decisions on visas need to remain the responsibility of well-trained people.
In the discussions I was having with the adviser from Canada, he referred to many clients wanting the opposite of automation, and to have “their person” fighting in their corner and helping them navigate the process safely. I couldn’t agree more.
Visas are still all about people
There are so many moving parts in the visa process, because people are all unique…and it needs a unique approach.
The human element
The human element extends well beyond the visa application process because migrating is a complicated and can involve multiple steps as well as multiple visas. Trying to discern which way to go, which visa to apply for and which documents to provide, based on a website or even some clever AI is a bit like walking towards a cliff with your eyes closed. You know there is a cliff, you know you need to stop at some point, you just can’t quite work out when. This process will also be best dealt with by people, because it is all about people.
The tricky part is that for the potential migrant, that is a hard thing to understand and for migrants from certain countries, building trust in someone who will then safely see you to the other side of the world is a challenge. If often say to people that I consult with, that you will like me at the start of the journey, love me at the end, when the visas are in hand, but not necessarily be my best friend in the middle. - because I am paid (by my clients) to ensure they do what they need to do, to make this process work. Sometimes that involves a carrot and other times a stick. I hope (and it certainly appears) that my clients appreciate that approach, unless of course they are all too polite to tell me.
The message however is that despite massive advances in technology, everything going online, AI taking over the world and information being so accessible, migrating involves so many moving parts and challenges that no amount of YouTube videos will ever replace a living, breathing, human being in your corner cheering you on or giving you the push you need.
If you plan to “DIY” this process then do think carefully about what that might involve, because money saved now, might be money spent many times over, if something goes wrong. Migrating is an investment in you, your family and your future and equally it requires a financial investment as well.
I have learned plenty of DIY lessons myself (my wife would argue too little, too late) and despite having a keen interesting in doing things myself and learning along the way, when it comes to my family and their future, I wouldn’t want to take that chance.
Until next week.
